Navigating And Sustaining Online Mobile-Learning Under COVID Conditions At A Higher Education Institution: A Bricolage Of Networked Emergent Leadership And Care

Abstract

COVID-19 disrupted the academic year at all teaching and learning institutions. This research presents a case study of how the teaching and learning sector at the School of Education at Richmond University navigated and sustained the transition to mobile online teaching and learning. Data was generated from purposively selected participants using interviews, reflective diaries and collages. The data was subjected to content analysis. The findings illuminate that navigation was construed first as networked and distributed with emergent leaders and second as networked virtual learning communities. Sustaining the transition to online learning was intrinsically linked to the notion of care, care as pillars of sociality and care as virtual pastoral care. Our findings have implications for how universities conceptualise leadership and professional development.